Shattered
by skyfoot21
Summary: The states don't know what to think about the first hunger games, and neither does Emma when she is reaped, gets into fights with her escort, and is going into the games with her best friend's brother. Follow her through a story of Friendship, and loss. NOW BEING UPDATED DAILY!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! I'm writing another story, hoping that Fanfiction won't find a way to have it removed, like they did with my other two stories. Grr. Either way, This one is sort of different, and I hope you'll like it! I'm planning on doing sequals, though! ****J **

**Shattered, Chapter One: The Letter**

I walked into the dining room, holding the letter. I called my family in. My twin sister, Faith, came in first. Then it was my three brothers, Isaac, Ghram, and Nathan. Then, my mom came in. Last, Stephanie and Lilly, my other two sisters came in. I read the letter out loud:

_In order of the rebellion, The states need to be punished. On July 1__st__, every year, a lottery will be held to determine the one young man and woman , from ages 12 to 18, to compete in the Hunger Games, a fight to the death in a vast outdoor arena, which could be anything from forest, to mountains, to a desert, or even a frozen tundra. Everyone is required to watch the Games. If the two tributes from the same state are the last two alive, they can both win. Let the Hunger Games begin, and may the odds be Ever in your favor._

_~ President Gloss_

_Everyone is in shock. We realise that we need training. We each get jobs, ad I have to go to the library, with Steph and Faith. We go, and find many books. The librarian wishes us luck, and we leave. We walk home, and we see my best friend Micaela, sitting outside, looking upset. Steph lets me go over to her, while she takes my books. She looks up and sees me, and looks a bit happier. She comes right out and says: "Emma, I'm worried about us." " I know. I am too." I say back. We just sit there, staring. Finally, I say " Micaela, you know none of us have a chance. Now, your older brother Bailey might. And Stephanie might. But us, come on. Could you see me being up in a tree? Or you stabbing someone?" She looks up and says : I know we don't have a chance. And you? In a tree?" she giggles the last part. We both crack up laughing. "But really. I doubt we could win." I say. I hear my Mom calling me, and ask if Micaela wants to come with me, and she does. We walk in and Mother hands me my training schedule. She says hello to Micaela, and asks if she wants to train with us. She says yes. We start our training. I have weapons first, and find that I'm good with throwing knives, and so is Micaela. We finally realise that we might actually have a chance._


	2. Reaping Day The Worst Day Ever

**Hey! Finally updating! :D I know, I was gone for an incredibly long amount of time. Fear no longer, I will try to update every day! I'm so happy! I get to go to my Aunt's house this weekend! My favorite place! :D Here is the next chapter! :D **

It's today. The reaping. Micaela and I can make it, I know we can. We've trained for an incredible amount of time together. Her older brother Bailey can make it for sure. I just hope none of us get reaped. I wake up my family, telling them that today's the reaping. Only Faith stays in bed, groaning "5 more minutes!" I do what only Faith could teach me. I push her out of bed, hold her hands behind her back, and slap her in the face.

"Okay, okay! I'm up!" She says.

"Remember Faith. Be careful what you teach me!" I say with a giggle. We both head down to the kitchen, where Mom is making us breakfast.

"Emma, why don't you get Micaela over here? She can eat with us!" Our mom said. I walk out of the door, and down the street to Micaela's house. She's sitting outside.

"Micaela! Wanna come eat breakfast with us?" I ask.

"Sure!" She says happily.

We walk back to my house, where the kitchen smells like pancakes.

"Hi Micaela!" She says.

"Hi!"

We sit down, and stuff ourselves with food. We are starving.

Everyone is dressed for the reaping, so Micaela calls her parents and asks if she can go to Columbus with us.

"Uh huh! Yes, I have my bag! Yes, we're driving. Do you think we could walk 90 miles in 2 hours! Yes, I know William will miss me! Thank you!" She says while she's on the phone.

"Finally! I thought she was never going to stop asking questions!" Says Micaela, exasperated.

"So you can come? I ask.

"Yep!" She says.

We all pile into the van, Me, Micaela, and Faith all sitting in the very back, since it's such a big group. We drive, with me, Micaela, and Faith all talking quietly. Finally, we pull in. We all get out, sticking close together. We walk up to the long line that we assume to stand in, and finally, we make it to the front.

"Name?" The woman asks.

"Emma Neves." I say.

"Hold out your hand." She says.

I do, unsure of why. She takes something, and touches my finger to it. I feel a sharp prick of pain, see a tiny drop of blood, and she presses it on a piece of paper. I walk away, waiting for Micaela and my Family. They all come, and we go to our sections. Faith, Micaela, and I walk to the 14 year old section. We all stand together, silent.

"Welcome, Welcome. Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be Ever in your favor." Says a 30 year old woman in heels. "I am Mallory Deubaur, and I am the Ohio Escort!" She says in a much too cheery accent.

She walks over to the ball of girls names. Everyone is silent. I pray that it's not Micaela or Me or my family. No such luck.

"Emma Neves" she says. I slowly walk up, and here crying from Lilly, see a look of disbelief from Stephanie's face, and hear snickers from the two girls who hate me. I get up to the stage. Mallory prances over to the boys ball.

"Bailey Wenning." She says. Now I see more tears from Micaela. Her best friend and brother, going to their ultimate death. Faith hugs her, and tells her something, but I don't know what.

Some Police come and usher us into City Hall, and into some tiny rooms, each separate.

My Family comes in first. Faith rushes to me, and hugs me. I hug her back. She sits beside me, with Lilly on my lap, being only 5, and all my other family crowded around me.

"Emma, you've gotta win!" Says Lilly. "Lilly, I just don't know. " I say. I notice my Mother isn't in here.

"Faith, where's Mom?" I ask. "She said she couldn't handle it." Faith said flatly. "She doesn't think you can do it." She says angrily. I then make a descision. I have to win. To prove her wrong. My family tells me how I can win, and the police come in. "Can I please have 5 more minutes with my twin sister?" Asks Faith sweetly. "No." Says the officer. "Now, officer. You don't want me to get angry. You will regret it if you say no again." She says. It takes all I have not to laugh. He will regret it, if Faith is involved. "Fine. 5 minutes. And That's it!" He says angrily. He knows Faith. He made the right choice.

"Emma. Mother doesn't think you can win. You have to. For Me. For us!" Faith says.

"I know. I am going to win. At all costs." I say. "Look. Emma. I'm going to talk to Bailey. I'll get him to help you. With the two of you together, you can win." Faith says. "Thank you!" I say. We sit together, hugging. "Times up!" Says the officer again. Faith looks at me. I shake my head no. She cooperates. For once. Next, Micaela comes in. "Emma, you have to help Bailey win. You have to!" She says franticly. "I don't know. You know we can't be in the same room for 5 minutes without nearly killing each other!" I say. She has tears in her eyes. "Micaela. I will try. I will try to get along with him. I will try not to kill him. I know I won't kill him if I try hard enough." I say. "Okay." She said. "Times up" Says the officer. "Wait. Let me say one last thing." Said Micaela. "Fine." Said the officer. "Emma. I want you to wear this into the arena." She says. She pulls a charm bracelet out of her pocket. I accept it. "Thank you. Micaela. Tell my family and yourself that whatever you see on that screen, you have to get past it. You have to move on. No matter what." I say. "I will." Says Micaela. We hug, and the officer makes her leave. I know I won't have any more visitors, so I start to cry. I don't want to do this.

Wait! I see a closet. I have an idea. I quietly get up and walk towards it. I open it. Empty. I climb in, and shut the door. Maybe, when they come in, they won't see me, and just leave. I hear the door open. "Emma? Emma!" I hear Mallory say loudly. I hear the officers voice. "She didn't get out. I know that much." he says. I carefully move over so they can't see my feet. Just then, the closet door opens.

"Emma! What in the world were you doing in there?" Mallory asks angrily. "None of your beeswax!" I say loudly. Bailey walks in the opening of the door. "Emma, what were you trying to do?" Bailey asks annoyingly. "I'll tell you when she can't hear me say it." I spit out. "Fine." He says. "So. Apperently we're allies now." He says. " I guess we are. One question. How are we going to get along?" I ask. "I guess we'll just have to start." He says. "So. You to know each other?" Asks Mallory in her annoying voice. "Why do you care?" I spit out, clearly annoyed." "Just trying to get to know you two better." She says, exasperated. I roll my eyes at Bailey. He smiles. We might just get along in the arena.

**Review! I enjoy critisism, and compliments! ****J**


	3. Train, Fighting

**Hey! I've figured something out. If I write more than one chapter at a time, I have a reason to update! Sorry for any typos, I'm writing this in bed with no lights on. So, yea! Here's the next chapter!**

Mallory guides us to the train, that will apparently take us to Washington DC. I have always wanted to go. Until now. Now, I wish I'd never even heard of the place. Bailey walks beside me, looking as unhappy as ever. I really don't want to do this. We finally board the train, and I hope Mallory won't come with us. No such luck. I hate that woman. This is going to be a long trip.

Mallory shows us to our rooms, and I enter mine, and slam the door and lock it. I lay on the bed, and think. _If this would have never happened, what would I be doing now? _I wonder. _I would be home, and eating dinner with my family, laughing and having a good time. That's all ruined. Nothing will ever be the same, even if we do win. I'll be haunted with the fact that I might have to kill people. This never should have happened. It should have been someone else. I think selfishly. I wondered if anyone volunteered in the other states. I doubt it. My thoughts are interrupted when Mallory knocks on my door. "Emma, time to watch the recap of the reapings!" She says in her too perky voice. "NO!" I shout at her. There is a rattling, and She walks in. "I picked the lock. Now come on!" She says, exasperated. I throw a pillow at her. "What was that for?" She asked. "They're called Throw Pillows, duh!" I say, knowing that I'm getting on her last nerve. "You little-" "Mallory, stop. Let me get her out." I hear Bailey say/ "Fine. Good luck." She says flatly. She leaves, and Bailey walks in. "Nice one. Throw pillows." He says. I laugh. "I learn a lot from my awesome sister." I say, with a smile. "What were you doing, when she came in the room in City Hall?" He asks. "Trying to hide in the closet, so they would have never found me, and I wouldn't have to go to the Games." I say simply. "Nice one! I wish I would have thought about that!" He says. "We really have to go though. We have to meet with our mentors and watch the reapings again." "Fine. But if that freaking woman annoys me one more time, I will go off on her." I say. "Emma," He says. "Fine. But I'll still think it." I say._

_We walk out, to the TV room, where Mallory is waiting. I glare at her. "Time to meet your mentor!" She says, annoyingly. I glare at her again. Our mentor comes in, a nice, non-annoying looking lady, who is sort of old, but not really. She kind of reminds me of my Grandmother. "Hi! I'm Terri, and I'm going to be your mentor!" She says nicely, and not annoyingly. "Hi!" I say, eager to meet someone I won't throw pillows at. "A little warning. She's kinda aggressive." Bailey says, pointing to me. "Bailey, I'm not planning at throwing pillows at her. She seems much less annoying than Mallory." I say, louder than normal so Mallory hears it. I look at her, and she looks annoyed. Good. Terri smiles at me, and says "I'm glad you won't throw pillows at me!" She says happily. I think I like her._

" _I guess we should watch the reapings, now!" Says Mallory, clearly annoyed that I like Terri, and not her. "Mallory, you're just jealous that I like Terri, and not you." I say, aggressively. Bailey comes over to stop me, and I give him a glare. He stops, knowing that Faith teaches me fighting, and I could hurt him if I needed to. "I am not jealous. I am annoyed that you are saying mean things about me." She says, angrily. "Well get used to it darling. Cause it's sure as heck not gonna stop." I say, annoying her by my use of Darling. "Don't. Call. Me. Darling. Again." She manages to growl out. "Fine then Darling. Oops!" I say, getting on her nerves again. She opens her mouth to retalite, but I give her a glare that stops her. "I win this round." I say. She just ignores me. We sit down, me as far away from Mallory as possible, and watch the reapings. Only a few catch my eye. A pair of siblings from Texas. A girl from Minnesota that lunges to volunteer before the escort can even read the name. A strong 18 year old from Michigan. Then, I see it. My cousin, Lexi, from Tennesee. "No" I say. "No! Not her!" I say. I start crying. Terri comes over. "What's wrong Sweetie?" She asks. "Th-that's my c-c-cousin, L-lexi!" I say, and she hugs me. Lexi is my favorite cousin, and we talked a lot on the phone. I can't belive she got reaped. I wonder how her family is. They're probably the poorest Family in Tennesee. I feel really bad. Lexi was the oldest of her siblings, and her Mom died, leaving her dad to commit suicide, leaving her as the provider of the family. She has her best friend to help, but I don't know if they can get by. It worries me._

_When the reapings are over, I go back to my room quietly. I wait for the knock on my door from Mallory, telling me to go to dinner, but it never comes. Bailey comes, though, and askes me if I want to come. "No!" I shout. "Okay. I'll bring you a plate." He says calmly. "Thanks." I say. He comes in, five minutes later, with a plate full of food. "If you need to talk, let me know." He says. I thank him, and he leaves. I eat my food, and fall asleep._


	4. DC, Ugh

I slept a sleep full of nightmares. Dreams of dying, watching my family die, and worst of all, coming home without Bailey and Micaela hating me. That was one of the worst. The only thing that could have topped it was watching Lilly and Faith die. They are the siblings I'm closest to. I could never lose them. I wake up too knocking on my door. "Get up Emma!" Shouts Mallory, and I roll over, and see that it's 6:30. Great. I don't even get up this early for school. I climb out of bed, and I somehow find clean clothes, and Micaela's charm bracelet, and get up for breakfast. Bailey's walking down the hall, looking grumpy as ever. I don't blame him.

For breakfast, I have on my plate 2 pancakes, a scrambled egg, and 5 strips of bacon. I eat 2 strips of bacon, half a pancake, and a bite of eggs. I'm not hungry. When breakfast is done, We get to talk with our mentors. We all sit down, and Terri asks "So, Emma. What are your skills? She asks. "I hit the target with knives every time. And I'm good with edible plants and survival skills." I say. "Good! She says. "What about you, Bailey?" She asks. "Oh, I'm not really good at anything." He says quietly. "Are you kidding me? Bailey's the best spear-thrower I have ever seen!" I exclaim. "So you know each other?" Asks Terri. "Yea. He's my Best Friend's brother." I say. "Oh. It must have been hard on her." Says Terri sadly. "Yea, it was. She was crying a lot." Said Bailey.

We talk some more, and finally arrive in DC.I don't care much, and apparently, neither does Bailey. We just sit and talk. We are finally allowed to get off of the train. We step out of the train, and into the station, where news reporters are trying to get pictures. Me and Bailey walk beside each other, clear of emotion. We get into a building, that is home to the training center and what will be our home for the next few days. Tonight we have the chariot rides. I really don't want to do this. I hate it all.

When we get in, the first thing we do is meet our prep team and stylists. My prep team are made up of three people, Annalise, Linda, And Jarron, who seem nice enough, despite the fact that they are preparing me for slaughter. "Darling, you look wonderful!" they say. Or "Now you look almost like a human!" It kinda annoys me a bit, but I don't think I could go off on them. Not the way I do on Mallory. "It's time to meet your stylist!" Says Linda excitedly. They leave the room, and in comes a man in his early 20's.

"Hello Emma. I'm Finnegan, your stylist. I will do your hair, and have your outfit for the Chariot rides." He says calmly. "Hello Finnegan." I say calmly. If he's anything like Mallory, I'm not interested. I let him do my hair, and when he shows it to me in a mirror, it looks wonderful. He then brings out my dress, and I'm utterly shocked. It's a beautiful light blue Silk dress with every gem I could imagine on it. I love it. "Thank you Finnegan! It's beautiful!" I say happily. He smiles, and looks at my charm bracelet, the one that Micaela gave me. The charms are each different gem on the dress. "How did you know about the bracelet?" I ask, confused. "I saw you on TV." He answered simply. I smile, and go to change into the dress, expecting it to be heavy, but it's not. I love it.

He walks me out, and we meet Bailey, and his stylist, Giovanna. He's wearing a matching shirt, and black pants. "I look girly." He mutters. "You look fine, Bailey!" I say, exasperated. I forgot he was that annoying. We walk out to the chariots, and we have time to kill, so we hang out by our stylists. "We want you two to hold hands in the chariot." Said Finnegan. "Eww! NO!" We both say at the same time, and crack up laughing. "Fine, but at least smile, wave, and win the crowd over." Says Giovanna. "Fine." Says Bailey, clearly annoyed. "At least now we don't have to hold hands." I say matter-of-factly.

**(Line Break)**

**The crowd loved us. We were the favorites. I have the roses people threw at me to prove it. I got at least 50. As I'm laying in bed, I'm thinking about Mallory and I's fight today. I punched her in the nose before Bailey could stop me. I think I broke it. It was at dinner. She had said "Bailey, you looked stunning out there!" in her annoying voice. "Well what about Emma? She looked amazing!" He said, trying to get conversation started. "Humph." Said Mallory. That's when I punched her in the nose. And walked out. Simple as that. I stayed long enough to figure out that I probably broke it. I wonder what she'll do about it.**

**I drift off to sleep, dreaming about the chariot rides. For once, there are no nightmares to wake me up.**


	5. Training, Allies, Cousins, Climbing

"Hey Emma! Get up!" I hear. it's not Mallory's annoying voice though. It's Bailey. "What?" I ask, wishing I could sleep in for once. "Training's today!" He shouts. "NO!" I shout, tired from the Chariot Rides. "Don't make me come in there Emma!" He said. "I'll throw a pillow at you!" I shout, annoyed. He bursts in, and I throw a pillow at him. He doesn't look angry, and he throws the pillow back and hits me in the face. "Wow." I say. "Good Aim!" I giggle. I sit up, and yawn. "Terri somehow convinced Mallory to let you sleep through breakfast, since you were so tired." He says. "I was annoyed. You weren't there to shut Mallory up." He says. I laugh. "Anyway, training's at 10. It's 9:30." He says. "Crap! I have to get ready and do my makeup and stuff!" I shout, to no one in particular. "I will never understand girls and their makeup." Bailey mutters as he walks out.

I get ready, do my hair curled, and put on a bit of eyeshadow and lipstick. I look as good as any other day, so I head out. Bailey is waiting for me at the elevator. "9:50." He says. "It took you 20 minutes to do that?" He says, clearly shocked. "Yes, dummy! I had to wait for the curling iron to heat up, do my makeup, and then curl my hair, and splash cold water where the curling iron burnt me on the cheek!" I say. "Why do you use it if it can burn you?" he asks. "Why do you use a microwave? It can burn you?" I ask, exasperated. "Point taken." He says.

We are the last ones to arrive at the training center, even though we are 5 minutes early. I guide Bailey over to Lexi, where she is standing with her partner. "Hey!" I say, exicted to see her. "Hey!" she says. We give each other a big hug, while Bailey chats with her partner. "I'm sorry this is the latest way we got to see each other." She says, sad. "I know. I was really looking forward to your fourth of July party!" I said. It would have been 2 days from now, we would be at Lexi's house, having an illegal (don't tell! :P) fireworks party. Once, we accedentaly set a tree on fire. All the kids would play partner hide and seek after dark outside, each person having a partner and a set of walkie talkies, we would all spread out over their 3 acers of land, and try to capture each other. Lexi and I were always partners, and we had a secret code we came up with. I miss those times. It would never be the same again.

The head trainer, Anita, calls us all to the center, and gives us some big lecture that I'm not listening to, and she says we can start training with whatever stations we want. I pull Bailey over to the side, and say "I want Lexi and her partner as allies." I say. "I know. I kinda like Chad. That's her partner." He says. We go over too them, and turns out, Lexi was having the same conversation with Chad. We find out that Lexi is good at archery, and Chad can use a sword. We all go over to the rope net climbing thing, because we all need work at climbing. I make it halfway up, and fall. Bailey laughs. "Bailey, you're starting to remind me of Mallory. And you do not want a broken nose." I say. "Who's Mallory?" Asks Lexi. Bailey and I tell Her and Chad of my time with Mallory, and Lexi laughed at the part where I threw the pillow at her. I love telling stories. We get back to the climbing, and Bailey almost makes it to the top, and the falls. "Oww." He says. "Haha!" I laugh. "Oh quiet you." He says. Lexi makes it to the top, and even climbs up on the beams on the ceiling. Being only 13, and small for her age, it's not surprising that she can do that. She jumps down from one of the beams, unharmed. "Wow." Bailey said. I give her a high 5. Chad makes it to the top, but halfway down, he somehow manages to get himself stuck upside down hanging with his foot stuck. "Did I mention I was clumsy?" He asks. We all laugh. "A little help here?" He asks. Lexi climbs up, and somehow managed to help him. We spend the rest of the day practicing climbing, because we all need it, and Lexi can help us. I can almost jump off from the beams, but I can't quite land on my feet. It was a good day.


	6. Pancakes

I wake up, only to find it 5 in the morning. Only an hour and a half left to sleep. Might as well stay up. I had nightmares about falling out of trees, because of our rope climbing adventures. I have gotten used to the nightmares by now, but they still scare me. They scare me bad. I get in the shower, and there is a panel of buttons with at least 50 buttons, and speakers so I can listen to music. Who would listen to music in the shower?

After 20 buttons, I finally got soap. I swear, I had to press every button on there to get shampoo and conditioner. I hate expensive stuff. I really do. I think of home, and our little home, and I start to cry, so I force myself to think of training today. I'm going to recommend that we try to go to every station, since tomorrow is our private session with the Gamemakers (or Gamekeepers, I get them confused.). I am thinking about showing them my Knife throwing, Rope Climbing, and Edible Plants and Insects. Insects. Gross.

It's six twenty-seven, so I walk out, and knock on Bailey's door. "Bailey! Get up!" I shout. "Go away! I still have three more minutes!" he shouts. I barge in, drag him out of bed, and slap his face. "Hey!" he says. "I learned it from Faith. You should be scared of me." I say, pleased with my work. "No way. I'm older than you!" He scoffs. I give him a death glare. "Okay, maybe you scare me a little bit." He says. I smile.

Breakfast. Ugh. Mallory. ICK! I know I definitely broke her nose. I look at it and smile. "Looks like you got hurt, darling!" I say, sweetly. "What did I say about calling me Darling?" she growls. "You said Don't. Call. Me. Darling. Again!, and I said Ok, Darling! Oops!" I say. "Wow. You have a brain. I did not know that." She said. "I bet you don't know a lot of things, Darling!" I say. "I do know that you will be getting slapped across the face if you keep this up." She says, sweetly. I take my butter knife, and almost stab her hand with it. She moved it too fast. " Missed me!" She says. I lean over and throw my pancakes in her hair. "Whoops! Slipped!" I say, innocently. "You did that on purpose! You did not slip!" She said, angrily. "Duh, Captin Obvious!" I say. She storms out of the room. We are all silent until Training.

When we get into Training, I see Lexi, and run over to her. "You will never guess what I did at breakfast this morning!" I say. "What?" asks Lexi eagerly. "Okay. So, me and Mallory got into a huge fight, and I got so mad, I dumped my plate of pancakes on her head!" I say happily. "Awesome! You have the best ideas!" She said. We high five and wait for the others. Today will be a good day. I can feel it.


	7. Surprise!

**=O Six new chapters in one day? Yes, yes it is! :D I'm updating lots, and this is now a series: Undesirable Happenings. Like the Name? Don't like it? Don't be afraid to tell me what you think! Give me series names suggestions! :D**

**Yesterday, I learned how to shoot a bow, how to throw an axe, useful wrestling moves, and worked on weights. I think I am ready for the Games. Today is our Private Sessions with the Gamemakers. I already know what I'm going to do. I'm going to do. First, I'm going to grab some knives, and throw them. Then, I'm going to take some, climb the rope net, go up on the beams, and Shoot some knives from there. Then, I'll do edible plants and insects, and then, to finish off, I'll throw axes. I think I'll get at least an 8. I wonder what Bailey, Chad, and Lexi will do. I can't wait to find out. The training scores are tonight, too. I hope I do good. We are sitting in the room waiting to go in, and It's taking forever. "Bailey Wenning." Says Anita, the Trainer. "Good luck." I say. "Thanks. You too." He says. It seems like forever until they come out. **

"**Emma Neves" says Anita, pronouncing my last name Ne-ves. "Okay, and sorry, but it's nEEvs." I say, pronouncing it right. She doesn't say anything, just points in the door. I walk in, and see the Gamemakers watch me closely. I pick up a few knives, and throw them. Hitting the target every time. Then, I take 5, and start to climb the rope net. I get to the beams, and climb on them, to the Gamemakers surprise. I then throw the knives, and they hit the target every time. They look impressed. I jump down, and go over to the axes. I take one throw it, and it hit's the target. I throw a few more, and they all hit. I think I impressed them.**

**We are all crowded in the TV room, Me, Bailey, Terri, Lexi, Chad, and their mentor, Leslie, who apparently knows Terri. That's nice. The training scores come on. I notice that the siblings both get 4s, the volunteer girl got a 10, and finally, it's Ohio. "Bailey Wenning. 7." Says the announcer. We all clap for him. He smiles. "Emma Neves. 11." I can't believe it! I got an 11! Terri hugs me, Bailey and chad high-5 me, and Lexi hugs me so tight, I think I'm going to suffocate. Finally, it gets to Tennesee. "Chad Hearen. 6." We all clap. Lexi Neves. 8." "Yes! You got an 8!" I say happily. **

**I'm laying in bed, thinking about our conversation after the training scores. Bailey threw around some weights and spears. Chad climbed the net and threw a few axes. Lexi Climbed the net, and shot a bow and arrows. We all did pretty good. I fall into a dreamless sleep.**


	8. Not Breathing

**Yes, Yes. Another update. It's shocking. :P :P :P**

Interviews are today. I'm nervous. I don't like speaking in front of crowds. They make me nervous. I hate talking. People in general are not my thing. I had four hours of interview prep with Terri. It went fine. Then it was four hours with Mallory. I managed not to go off on her. She was annoying me to death, though. My interview angle is Sweet and quiet. And since I'm fast and a good climber, my, well, catchphrase, I guess, is "If they can't catch me, they can't kill me." It's okay, but, if it helps me get sponsors, I'm in.

"Hello! I'm you host, Tony Wright, and I am your host for the 1st Annual Hunger Games!" Says Tony, the one who will be interviewing me. It's a breeze through the other tributes, and then, they're calling me up. I walk up, smiling. "Hello Emma! How are you?" Asks Tony. "I'm doing great, how about you?" I ask him sweetly. "I'm great thank you. So, how are you finding Washington DC?" He asks. "I'm finding it just great." I say. "Well, that's wonderful. So, an 11 in training! How did you get that?" He asks politely. "Well, I really don't want to reveal it, you know, giving it away to my competition and all." I say nicely. "But, I have one thing to say. I'm small, and I'm fast. If they can't catch me, they can't kill me." I say. "Well listen to that folks! She sure is someone to look out for in the arena!" He says excitedly. "So, do you have any allies?" He asks. "Yes, I'm allied with my partner, Bailey, and my cousin from Tennesee, Lexi, and her partner, Chad. I think that we're a group to look out for!" I giggle. Just then, the buzzer rings. "Well, best of luck to you Emma! One more round of applause!" Tony shouts. The whole auditourm breaks into shouts and applause. I smile so wide, it must look like a grimace. I walk off stage, happy.

The other interviews go by fast, and finally, we're back in our rooms. Tomorrow is the Games. I'm worried. The arena could be some kind of ocean, and I can't swim. Or, it could be a desert, and I could burn to death. I can't sleep, and it's three in the morning, so I go out on the roof. The view is amazing. I can see people dancing on the streets below. I try something: I find a pebble, and throw it down. It comes back up. There must be a force field. I go back inside, hoping to get a little bit of sleep. I don't want to die tomorrow.

Line Break

The gong sounded. I ran for the Cornucopia. I took a backpack. I grabbed a knife, and looked around. Lexi was battling the vicious girl from Minnesota. And she was losing. I throw my knife, burying it in her back. She falls to the ground, dead. Lexi grabs the knife, and tosses it to me. We both run back in. I grab a few sleeping bags that are right there. Bailey has a jacket full of knives, which he tosses to me. I grab a few spears, two more backpacks, a first-aid kit, and one more knife, and look around again. Chad is nowhere to be found. We run around the back of the Cornucopia, and see him. Face down, with an arrow in his back.

We all just run away. Run away from death. We head towards this white wall, a few miles away. We are hoping to make our camp beside it, since it is right beside the woods, and the other Tributes would probably not go anywhere near it. We head out, only stopping to rest. We finally get within a few feet of it, and stop. We can't see the Cornucopia any more.

We stop, and catch our breath. We sit down, and go through our stuff. "I got a bow and arrows, three backpacks, and a first-aid kit." Lexi says. "I have a backpack, a roll of plastic, a spear, a canteen full of water, and a few axes." Bailey says. " I have two backpacks, two knives, a jacket full of knives, and a few spears." I say. "Let's see what we have in our backpacks." Lexi says. We all dump ours out. In one of mine, I have a bag or dried fruit, a few extra spear heads, a full canteen of water, some purifier, and bandages. In my heavy one, there is a blowgun and some darts, a bottle labeled: 'POISON', and a full canteen of water. In Bailey's bag, there is a small knife, a box of matches, an empty bottle of water, and a little pouch of berries. Lexi got 2 full canteens, a loaf of bread, dried fruit, some beef and crackers, a small axe, 2 rolls of bandage, a bottle of disinfectant, and a small tube of antibiotic ointment.

"We need to figure out what this white wall is." I say. "Maybe if we get a stick, we can poke it in, and see what happens." Bailey says. Lexi grabs her bow and arrows, and goes into the woods to grab a stick. "Here, since Emma came up with the idea, she should do it." Lexi says. She hands me the stick, and I poke it in. The stick comes back, with a small flame on it. "That's weird…" Bailey says. I stick it into the dirt, putting it out. It's getting cold, so we decide to find shelter. I put on my jacket of knives, and walk into the woods with a knife in my hand, just incase.

We finally come to a small clearing, right by the white wall, with no one around it. "This'll be a good place." Lexi says. We all agree, and decide to sort our supplies. Since there are five backpacks, and three of us, we decide that we each get a backpack, and the other two will be emergency supplies. I take a backpack, with a pack of dried fruit, a first aid kit, a knife, incase I lose my jacket, and a canteen of water. Lexi gets one with berries, the plastic, a first aid kit, a canteen of water, the blow gun, and the poison, to dip the darts in. Bailey takes water, spear heads, beef and crackers, a first-aid kit, matches, the small axe, and a tiny spear looking thing. We leave everything else.

"We're going to need more food. I'll go hunting." I say. "Okay, do you want one of us to come with you?" Lexi asks. "No, I'm fine, thanks." I say. I head out, with a few knives, and my jacket. I find a rabbit, and throw my knife into it, and it hit's the target. The eye. Then, I get a wild turkey. Ech. But, it's food, and we need it. Then, I see it. A buck. I've never shot one, but I'm about to. I close in, very quietly, like Stephanie taught me. Then, I throw my knife. It hits, exactly where it should. I thank the Lord for the good kills, and start to carry it all back. When I get into the clearing, Bailey's mouth opens in shock. I smile. "I got some food." I say. "Duh!" Bailey says, annoyed. " Now help me clean these." I say.

We get to work, skinning and cleaning the meat. We have enough to last us a week, so we get ready to eat. "Wait. We can get sick eating raw meat." I say. "I learned that the hard way." I add. "Well, we're not making a fire." Bailey said. "Well how else are we going to cook it? " I shout. We start yelling at each other, and I reach for a knife. "Stop." I hear Lexi say. We both ignore her, and start reaching for a weapon. Lexi reaches into her back, grabs the blowgun, and loads a poisoned dart. "You wouldn't." Bailey says. "Try me." Lexi says. I hear her mutter something to him, and he calms down.

"Wait. I have an idea." I say. I break a giant branch off of a tree, and go over to the white wall. I light the tip of the branch on fire, and come back. I stick it into the ground. "There. It won't give on too much smoke, and we can use it as a torch. " I say. We devise a plan where one guards and cooks, while the other two climb a tree to look for water and people. We switch every 30 minutes. I guard first, and it's easy work. There is a forked branch in the ground, with the branch holding the meat on it above the fire. We have five of these, and I turn each one every five minutes, and putting new meat on every ten.

Then, I hear Lexi. "Emma! It's the Texas siblings!" She says urgently. Her and Bailey hop down, and I toss them their weapons. We all stand, in a wall, because even if we put out the fire, they'll find us. So we stand, and wait.

Finally, we hear a twig snap. Then another. Then another. Finally, we see them. They're the siblings. "Please don't kill us!" Says the girl. I look at Lexi. I know she can tell that they're the siblings, and she doesn't want to kill them. I look at Bailey. He lowers his spear. "We don't want to kill you." Bailey says. "Y-you don't?" Says the boy, who doesn't look to be more than twelve. "No. Do you want to ally with us?" I say, not caring what Bailey and Lexi say. "Sure!" Says the girl happily. Bailey and Lexi don't look mad that I asked them to be allies, which is good. "What are your names?" Bailey asks. "I'm Sarah, and this is Jake." She says. "What supplies did you get?" Lexi asks nicely. "W-we didn't get anything." Says Sarah quietly. "Oh, that's Okay! We have enough for all of us!" I say. They smile. We give them each the packs, and an axe each, so we all have weapons. Once all of the meat is done, we each take 5 pieces of our choice, and I take three pieces of deer, and two of rabbit. I eat a bit of rabbit, and then leave the rest in reserve. We have an axe and some meat for spare supplies. Not a lot.

"We need to get to sleep. Two of us should guard, and the others get sleep. We'll switch, and the second shift will be the other three." Bailey says. "I'll take first watch." I volunteer. "So will I." Sarah says. The other three climb into the sleeping bags, and drift off to sleep. I grab my jacket, and put it on. "What's it like in Ohio?" Sarah asks suddenly. "Oh, flat, boring, cold." I say. "My best friend's brother is Bailey." I say. "Aww." Sarah says sympathetically. "How is it in Texas?" I ask. "Hot, too many tarantulas, and things. And rattlesnakes." She shudders the last part. "I hate them. One bit my baby sister, Lauren, and killed her." She says. "Wait, Lauren? Is your Mom named Mellissa?" I ask. "Yeah, why?" She asks. "My mom is Beth. Our Moms were best friends!" I say. "Oh! I thought I saw you somewhere!" Sarah exclaims. "Well, I officially know everyone in the alliance. Lexi is my cousin." I say. Sarah doesn't say anything, but I can see that she has a sympathetic look on her face. She starts to doze off, so I let her sleep on me shoulder. I start to get tired, so I wake the others up. I carry Sarah to the sleeping bags, and try to place her in. I can't get her in, and I'm surprised that she hasn't woke up. Then I realize something. She's not breathing.


	9. Family and Screams

**This chapter took awhile to write, but here it is! I hope you like it! :)**

She's not breathing. This can't be happening. "She's not breathing!" I say franticly. I hear the cannon. I know it's too late to save her. "What happened?" Asks Jake shakily. "I don't know." Bailey murmurs to him. I have tears down my face, I can feel it. "No! Not my sister!" Jake shouts. "Jake! You'll get us found!" Lexi says. "I don't care! I hate you! I hate you Gloss!" He shouts to the sky. Bailey and I exchange worried glances, as we realize this could be deadly to us.

Then, we hear a crackle. "Attention Tributes. We will be sending your family and friends into the arena with you. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor." We hear another crackle, and then nothing. "Jake!" Bailey shouts. I've never seen him so angry, not even when I broke his 100-dollar video camera.

Soon, the hovercrafts come. We notice that Sarah's body is gone, and soon, I see my family, and Micaela. And then I see William, Bailey and Micaela's special needs little brother. That's what worries me. I see Jake's other sister, Layna, and my other family, Lexi's siblings. I run over to Faith, and hug her. Then, I go over to Lilly. "Lilly, I'm so sorry." I start to say. "Emma, it's alright. I know you'll protect me." She says, looking up at me. I pick her up, and walk over to Micaela and William. "Micaela, I am so sorry." I say. "Attention all tributes. In addition to the family and friends of the tributes, only two can still win. They can be anyone from the same state." Says the announcer. I break down then.

Stephanie walks over to me, and hugs me. "Lilly, can you go over to William?" She asks. "Sure!" She says happily. I don't think she understands what's going on. "Emma. It's fine. We'll all make it out." She whispers to me quietly. "No it's not. We can't." She says. She gestures to her pocket, and whispers "Yew berries. When we're all the last ones left, we'll threaten to eat them. There are more over there." She says, pointing to the woods. "Guys, I need to go talk to Steph alone. I'll be right back. "I say. Everyone just nods. We walk into the woods, and she says "Emma. We have to do this. Our first plan is to kill the others. It'll be hard, but I'll do it. Give them the berries, and tell them that they taste good. Not us or Micaela's family, just the others. Then, we'll win." She says. I just nod, feeling guilty about the whole thing. But I go along with it, just wanting to get out of this place. We pick a baggie full of them, and go back to camp. "Guys, we found some berries, and they're safe! We recognize them from home!" Steph says. I turn to everyone else, and mouth "don't". They seem to know our plan, and Bailey says "It's okay, we're not hungry, right guys!" They all say yes. The other two families come up, and grab a few. I start to feel guilty, but shake the feeling away. They put them in their mouths, and start to collapse. It's a good thing that everyone swallowed at least one. I start to cry, but then stop. I realize that it was mandatory. I hear all the cannons fire, and we take the bodies out, so the hovercrafts will get them. We sit down, and Bailey looks at me angrily. "Emma, why did you do that!" He shouts. Micaela tries to get him to calm down, but only gets a bloody nose from a punch. Faith runs over to her, and helps her. "Bailey, stop. It was my idea." Stephanie says. "Come here." She says. Bailey walks over, and Stephanie whispers something to him. "Fine, but I still want to kill you." He says annoyed. "If you kill her, I will kill you." Faith says. "Hurt anyone again, and you'll pay." She adds on. "Oh, wanna bet!" Bailey says, lunging for her. I grab Faith, and Stephanie grabs for Bailey. I drag her to one side of the clearing, and yell at her. "Do you really think you can get away with something like that?" I shout angrily. "I was defending family. Isn't that what Mother taught us to do?" She retorts. "Yea, and Mother taught us to always believe in each other. That didn't work for her, did it?" I shout. I can feel myself starting to tear up, so I just walk away. "We need to make a shelter." I say. We end up making a giant unstable lean-to, and we take shelter. Bailey, Micaela, and Kendra, Micaela's cousin, take watch first. Faith and I make sure Lilly and William are asleep, before we fall asleep. I wake up, at five in the morning, to find Steph, Isaac, and Michal, another one of Micaela's cousins on watch. Steph is fighting to stay awake, so I offer to take her place. She gratefully accepts, and falls asleep. Soon enough, Faith and Nathan come to take watch, and we just sit, silent. Eventually, we figure it's time to get everyone up, so we quietly shake everyone awake. Lilly and William are still sleeping, so we decide that Micaela and Faith will stay with them, while we all do something. We decide that Steph and I will go hunting, Isaac and Graham will make the food cooking thing, since we have about a billion more people, Nathan and Michal will go and find materials to make more weapons, and Kendra and Bailey will find stuff to keep Lilly and William busy, cause who knows how long we'll be in this horrid place. I go out with Steph, and we take out a bunch of meat. We also collect safe berries, like blackberries, wild strawberries, blueberries, and boysenberries. I also collect herbs, just in case. We walk back, and the place has been transformed. We have a large area for cooking food, so we deposit the meat by it, and decide we'll cook it later. Nathan and Michal are sitting and working on making spears, knives, and much more. William and Lilly are happy with Micaela and Faith are telling them stories until Kendra and Bailey get back. Around the lean-to, there are torches, to keep us warm, because it gets cold at night. Steph and I see a log, so we get it, and set it up so it's like a small table. We find a few more of these, so we have little tables. Soon, a small parachute comes down, and Lilly and William rush to it, not knowing what it is. I walk over, open it, and see that it's filled with yew berries. Terri knows our plan. And obviously, she is supporting us. I give the kids the parachute to the kids to keep them busy, and walk over to Steph. She looks, and then nods. I put them in my backpack. Soon, Kendra and Bailey come in with a bunch of leaves, some sticks, and a bunch of long grass. They deposit them, and walk over. "You guys got a bunch." Kendra says. "Yep." Steph says. Michal glares at Steph, but I don't know why. They must not have a good history. Kendra and I walk off together, and start to talk. "I miss home already." She says. "So do I. At least we have our friends and family, though." I say. "Do you know why we were sent in?" She asks. I hesitate, then start. "One of our allies, Sarah, died, and her little brother, Jake, broke down, and shouted that he hated Gloss, and then they sent you in. Steph and I knew the berries were poison yew berries, and it was her idea." I say. "Oh. Well, at least one of our families will win. One of them have to." She says. "I know. I would rather have Lilly and William win, though. I couldn't stand to see them die." I say. "Yea, they deserve to win. The poor things don't know what's happening." She says. "I know. I feel so bad." I say, glancing over at them. We decide to help them make toys, so we walk over, and sit down. "Hi guys!" I say, happily. "Hi Eh-uh!" William says. He has trouble with speech, and has hearing loss and is special needs. I love him like he's my brother. "Emma, when are we going home?" Lilly asks quietly. "Soon, Lilly, I hope. I don't know." I say. We help them make little dolls, by tying sticks together with the grass, and then tying a leaf to the top for a head. They seem to be enjoying themselves, so we go to help clean the meat. Soon enough, it's all gutted and cleaned, so we start sticking it on the sticks, and turning them. It's hard work, and gets me exausted. But the meat is cooked, so we begin to eat. "William, Lilly! Time to eat!" Kendra calls. William comes, but Lilly doesn't. "William, where's Lilly?" I ask. "She said try go home!" William says. "She tried to go home?" I ask. William just looks at me, so I sign it. He signs the word yes, and I look at Kendra. "We have to find her!" She says. "Steph!" I shout. "What?" She asks. "Kendra and I are going out. Watch William. If we're not back by the time the sun sets, send out help, unless you've heard cannons. If you have, watch the sky." I say. We grab our packs, and run, before she can ask questions. We walk out, not daring to shout for her, just looking for clues, like broken branches, or worst, blood. We walk, not finding. Then, we hear it. The scream. Lilly's scream.

**REVIEW **


	10. Bears and Boyfriends

**Hi guys! You all hate me, I know. I hate me too. I've gotten better at writing lately, and I'm even writing a novel with my best friend. A lot of things have changed, since I wrote the last chapter. I based my siblings and friends on my real best friends. Only 2 of us are best friends now. But that's not going to make my writing any different. I'm busier now, I have tons of homework and things for dance, but I promise you guys this: I WILL, and I MEAN IT, write at least one new chapter a week. I feel horrible, because I left you at a cliffhanger, too. Well, sorry about my rant, but it all needed to be said. I love you guys (Like I love my fans XD Not the other way), and you're the reason I write. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and there's a major plot twist. **

Kendra and I run in the direction of Lilly's scream, axes in hand. I have my jacket of knives, too. Then, we see it. The bear, corning Lilly against a tree. "Lilly!" I shout, not knowing what to do. _I have to save her. _I think. My goal is to keep all of our families safe, and I will do that. The large, black bear turns towards us, and I motion for Lilly to run in the direction of camp. She's young, but she knows. She knows she needs to save herself. Kendra slowly backs up, as Lilly runs back to camp, but I stay by the bear. I was going to kill it. It tried to kill my sister. I took my axe, and buried it in the bear's chest. The bear fell, and I smirked. "That's what you get for trying to hurt my sister." I mutter. It's body shudders, and it dies. I pull the axe out of it's stomach, and I notice a river by me, so I dip the axe in the water, cleaning the blood off. Once it's clean, I turn around and face Kendra. "Let's go back to camp." I say. I try to act like nothing just happened, but it doesn't work. I know that if William wouldn't have told us that Lilly tried to go home, she would've died. I feel horrible, because I didn't help her. Kendra doesn't say anything, she's still too frightened. When we get to camp, we see Lilly standing, shaking, and I see why. Stephanie and Michal are yelling at each other, and Steph has a bloody nose. I run up to Stephanie, and pull her back. "Stop." I say. Even though she's two years older than me, I still get her to stop. I knew that he and Michal dated last year, and it didn't end pretty. So it's obvious that they're going to hate each other. Kendra deposits Lilly next to William, and sits next to them, not wanting to get involved. Micaela walks up behind Michal, and puts her hand on his shoulder. "Mike, stop. What happened?" She asked, calmly. I know that Michal really cares about Micaela. He'd do anything for her, kinda like me. Michal didn't answer, just brushed her shoulder off, and walked away. I glance sympathetically back at Micaela, knowing that he probably upset her, by ignoring her. She shakes her head, and gives a weak smile, before going over to Kendra, Micaela, and Lily.

I take Steph's arm, and take her to the river, where we rescued Lilly, and helped her wash the blood from her face. "Do you want to talk about it?" I ask, quietly. I know I'm the only one Steph will talk to about things like that, and I always manage to make her feel better. She shakes her head no, but doesn't say anything. She has a sad look in her eyes, and I immediately know why. She wants him back.

**A/N!**

**So, were you expecting that? I know it's short, but I'm running on 5 hours of sleep, and I'm sick. So it's not my best. But I think it's kinda good, for not updating in what, 500 years? I hope you guys like this chapter, and please, NO H8. But I accept constructive criticism. I'll update again sometime soon, so check back!**


	11. Fire

I wake up the next morning, exhausted. We heard at least 3 cannons last night. It wasn't any of us, though. Bailey is laying next to me, sleeping. I want to wake him up, but I don't. Instead, I look at the parachute falling from the sky, and I quietly walk out to get it. Michal, Nathan, and Kendra were taking watch, but they didn't notice the parachute. In it, I find small wooden dice, and a tiny game board. In it, is a note.

_For the little ones, so they don't run off again. _

_-T_

I smile, happy that Terri would think of something like that. Only Terri would, too. I decided that I'd go out and hunt, so I grabbed my jacket full of knives, and headed out. I was startled by the sound of a cannon, but I didn't think anything of it. I killed a rabbit, and a squirrel, so I headed back, picking blueberries along the way. When I got back, everyone was awake. Stephanie and Michal were sitting down, talking calmly. _That's a first. I thought. I set down the rabbit and squirrel in the meat pile, hoping I wouldn't have to skin it. I walked over to William and Lilly, and sat by Bailey, who was telling them stories to keep them busy. I listened to Bailey's fairy tale about an oak tree that threw branches at people. I knew he wanted a break from them, so I showed them the game that Terri sent, and they shrieked with excitement. I sat own with them, and we played. It was kind of a mix between Monopoly™, and Sorry™. We played for awhile, before Steph came up behind me._

"_Hey Emma, can I talk to you?" She asked. I nodded, and left William and Lilly for a minute, as Stephanie took me outside of the clearing._

"_What is it?" I asked."Well, you know how Michal and I broke up?" She asked. I nodded, wondering what she wanted to tell me. "Well, I still have feelings for him. And he has feelings for me, too." She told me, smiling._

"_That would be great. If we weren't all in a death match together." I tell her, sarcastically. I've never loved a boy, besides my brothers, in a brotherly way, and I never really planned on it. She rolls her eyes at me._

"_Well, we agreed that if we make it out of this alive, we'll date again." She told me. I was happy for her, I really was. But I don't communicate my emotions well. I smiled. "I'm really happy for you, Steph." I told her. Suddenly, I heard screams from the camp, and Steph heard them, too. We looked at each other, and ran back to camp. We ran into the entrance, and saw that one of the torches had fallen over. The camp was on fire._


	12. Death

**A/N! I'm sorry if the whole chapter ends up bold, or in itallics! It's a glitch with my word processor! :/ Anyways, I've been busy, and I've had no real inspiration to write, so this is why it's a late chapter!**

I react instantly. I grab Lilly and William, grab what I can of our materials, shout for everyone else to come, and I run out. I toss Lilly into Steph's arms, and we run. I hear the footsteps of the others behind us, then I hear a scream. It belongs to Kendra, no doubt. Micaela tries to run, but I stop her.

"No. Take William! I'll get her!" I say. I don't give her time to react. I hand her William, and I run back to camp, just in time to see the rest of it go up in flames. And then I hear the cannon.

I know it's no use, but I run back into the flames, to make sure it was hers. And it was. I take the time, though, to get her backpack, but that's the time it takes for me to faint, from the smoke.

I wake up, and I'm confused. I'm in an uncomfortable position, and I can't move. I can make out a campfire, a sword propped up against a tree, and then I realize that I'm tied to a tree. I start struggling, and I hear a voice.

"Well well well, seems as if you're finally awake."

"Who are you?" I shout. "Let me go!" I try to break free, but the rope is too strong and thick.

"Are you going to stay with us, and do what we tell you?" The voice asks. I make out a strong, tall, male. Great.

"I asked you first." I spit out.

"Fine. You want to do this the hard way?" He asks. I feel a searing pain in my leg, and I manage to look down. There's blood running down my leg, and the boy has a knife in his hand. My knife.

"Fine. I'll only stay with you if you let me go, and give me all of my weapons." I say. I make out maybe two or three more people sitting around the fire, silent, but glaring daggers at me.

"Okay. I'm Devin Rodriguez, and I'm the tribute from Colorado. This is Jessica Rainson, the other tribute from Colorado. This is Joey Stevenson, the tribute from Georgia." He said. He untied the ropes from my arms and legs. I get up and stretch, already making a plan for escape. He hands me my jacket, but the knives aren't in it.

"Where are my knives?" I growl.

"I have them. You're not getting them yet." Devin replied.

"Give me my knives, now. Or I swear, I will kill you." I say. I'm small, and weak. But I know how to look tough.

"Really? A girl who was just passed out for 2 days stuck to a tree, against three people fully armed?" He asked. "You can try, but good luck." He smirks. I sigh.

"How many people died while I was out?" I asked.

"5." He said.

"Who were they?"

"One was from Ohio-" he started.

"Did she have blonde hair, a pony tail, and glasses?" I ask, thinking it was Kendra.

"Yes, but another one was from Ohio. He had brown hair, and freckles." Devin replied.

"Oh God..." I said, knowing it was Nathan. "Oh God, no..."

"One was from Alabama, one was from Kentucky, and one was from Rhode Island." He finished, clearly ignoring my tears.

*One week later*

Michal died. I wasn't as sad as when Nathan died, but he was still close to Steph. I felt so horrible. All of the tributes were alseep, and I was supposed to be keeping watch. I like Jessica the most - she comforted me part of the night when Nathan died. And plus, she slipped me one of my knives when no one was watching. I slowly got up. I snuck over to Devin, and grabbed my other knives. I didn't want to do this, but I knew I had to. Before I knew what I was doing, my knife entered his heart.


	13. Reunion Kind of

I was awoken by the sound of thumping feet. Two tributes that I didn't recognize were running, and a knife whizzed by them. The people chasing them were Isaac and Graham! I rusteled a branch, and Isaac looked up, and threw a knife. I dodged it. Barely.

"Really? You're going to try and kill your own sister?" I giggle, smiling. His face changed from anger to surprise, and he smiled. I jumped down, into his arms. Graham hugged me, and I could barely breathe.

"Oh my God, Emma! Where were you? We thought you were dead!" Isaac said, hugging me even tighter.

"Some stupid tributes got the smart idea to tie me to a tree." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Who was it? They better fucking be dead." He said. That took me by surprise - he never cussed.

"Some tributes from Colorado and some other state." I said. "I... I let one go though... on purpose." I said.

"Why?!" Graham asked me.

"Because. She wasn't trying to hurt me. She's the only reason I escaped, anyways." I said, like it was nothing. Isaac sighed, and I climbed the tree again. I rolled up my sleeping bag, and put it in one of the bags.

"Incoming!" I shouted, tossing one of them down. Isaac caught it. I tossed the other one down, and Graham caught it. I put the other one down, and hopped down. Silently, I followed them, assuming it was towards the camp. After walking awhile, I saw torches in the distance. I assumed it was everyone else.

And I was wrong.


End file.
